Rivas Logan’s family comes from a very diverse background from Spain, Germany, Nicaragua, and Cuba. Born and partially raised in Nicaragua, Rivas Logan lived with her mother, father, siblings, and grandmother. When she came to America in her younger years, it was hard adjusting. Her mother and father both worked two jobs and Rivas Logan could not speak English. Her grandmother was in charge of overseeing the children.

“We weren’t allowed out of the house until we got our homework done.” Rivas Logan joked, when asked about grandmother’s style. This strict living kept Rivas Logan focused on her studies and taught her to develop an unconditional love for school. Rivas Logan ended up graduating from Coral Park Senior High School a year early, at the age of sixteen, and went on to Florida International University (FIU) to study computer science and engineering. Since computer science was something that girls rarely studied, there were not many girls in the class. Towards the middle of the year, Rivas was the only girl left standing, but that has seemed to have made her stronger.

“I was used to being the only woman among men and I guess that’s what gave me the strength to run for political office,” she states. After receiving her bachelors’ degree, Rivas Logan decided to become a teacher. Ten years later, Rivas Logan enrolled at Nova Southeastern University to obtain her masters’ degree. She went on to work at the elementary, middle, high school, and college levels. Rivas Logan often said that she learned from her students. Each school level has a different atmosphere. In addition to teaching at the schools during the day, Rivas Logan taught computer courses as an Adjunct Professor at Miami-Dade Community College at night.

“Insanity,” laughs Rivas Logan, “is what led me to run for the School Board.” One of her fellow administrators at Miami High suggested that Rivas Logan run for the School Board. After some careful consideration, Rivas Logan decided to act upon that suggestion. She went to the elections department, bought a list of all the voters for about $39 dollars and began knocking on doors in her large district. Rivas Logan knocked on over 7000 doors for about six months and that was the heart of her campaign. Luckily, all that talking to the voters paid off when Rivas Logan became the School Board Member for District Seven.

Since that day, Rivas Logan has been busy. She visits schools, takes surveys, and holds town hall meetings because she wants to serve her constituents, develop relationships, and make policies that make sense. She also supports the ideas of single gender schools, recalling her early education in an all girls school in Nicaragua. Two secondary single gender schools are slated to be built in her district. She is also making plans for schools with different academies and several K-8 schools. Rivas Logan has lots of plans not just for her district but for the entire state. She’s proud that Florida’s ranking for per pupil spending is up slightly. She serves on a State Board to monitor our improvement as a state.

“Believe in yourself, have goals and don’t stop trying because the roads will be rough sometimes and you’ll have a lot of obstacles in your way,” is what Rivas Logan advises. “Not everyone is going to like you, but you can always demand to be respected,” she adds. The energy and quick mind of Rivas Logan and her genuine interest in improving this community have prepared her for the task of planning for the educational needs of the fastest-growing district in our county.   

Written by Abigail Williams, Miami Northwestern Senior High School
Supervised by Chris Kirchne